Middle East & Africa, Jul 1st 2010

A ROW is brewing over control of Iran’s biggest university. With 1.5m students, campuses all over the country and tens of billions of dollars in assets, Azad University, a semi-private institution, is a rich prize. Since its establishment nearly 30 years ago, it has been a bastion of Akbar Hashemi

Rafsanjani,  a wealthy and influential former president and bitter rival of the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr Ahmadinejad’s supporters claim that Mr Rafsanjani channelled money from Azad University to finance opposition candidates during last year’s election campaign, charges the university denies. Since the election, it has been the site of continuing protests against Mr Ahmadinejad’s government.

Small wonder then that Mr Ahmadinejad is keen to get his hands on it. In June, anxious to prevent this, the university’s board of trustees voted to turn its assets into religious endowments, which shields them from government interference. Angered, the president tried to push a bill through parliament that would have allowed him to replace the university’s head and block it from transferring its assets. To Mr Ahmadinejad’s chagrin, MPs voted down the proposed law and rushed through another letting universities endow their property to the public.

The current president’s supporters, including members of the baseej, a thuggish volunteer militia, responded with protests outside parliament, lambasting Mr Ahmadinejad’s adversaries as traitors. Ali Larijani, the speaker and a conservative opponent of Mr Ahmadinejad, condemned the demonstrations. The president’s supporters have since proposed another bill to give the government more control over the university.

The quarrel has highlighted the opposition to Mr Ahmadinejad’s hardline government from within Iran’s conservative establishment. If the president comes out on top, it will be a blow to Mr Rafsanjani. It would also give the government and its security forces more control over Iran’s universities, where until now opposition to the regime has flourished.

Middle East & Africa